Obesity is a serious health problem for many people. Patients who are overweight often have problems with mobility, sleep, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Some other serious risks also include diabetes, cardiac arrest, stroke, kidney failure, and mortality. In addition, an obese patient may experience psychological problems associated with health concerns, social anxiety, and generally poor quality of life.
Certain diseases or conditions can contribute to additional weight gain in the form of fat, or adipose tissue. However, healthy people may also become overweight as a net result of excess energy consumption and insufficient energy expenditure. Reversal of obesity is possible but difficult. Once the patient expends more energy than is consumed, the body will begin to use the energy stored in the adipose tissue. This process will slowly remove the excess fat from the patient and lead to better health. Some patients require intervention to help them overcome their obesity. In these severe cases, nutritional supplements, prescription drugs, or intense diet and exercise programs may not be effective.
Surgical intervention is a last resort treatment for some obese patients who are considered morbidly obese. One common surgical technique is the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. In this technique, the surgeon staples or sutures off a large section of the stomach to leave a small pouch that holds food. Next, the surgeon severs the small intestine at approximately mid length and attaches the distal section of the small intestine to the pouch portion of the stomach. This procedure limits the amount of food the patient can ingest to a few ounces, and limits the amount of time that ingested food may be absorbed through the shorter length of the small intestine. While this surgical technique may be very effective, it poses significant risks of unwanted side effects, malnutrition, and death.
Electrical stimulation therapy is an alternative to surgical intervention, and may be effective in treating obesity either alone or in combination with diet and exercise. For electrical stimulation therapy, a patient is fitted with an implanted electrical stimulator that delivers electrical stimulation pulses to the patient's stomach via electrodes carried by one or more leads. The electrical stimulation therapy may be configured to induce a sensation of fullness or nausea in the patient, thereby discouraging excessive food intake. In addition, in some cases, the electrical stimulation therapy may be configured to increase gastric motility so that caloric absorption is reduced. Hence, electrical stimulation therapy may be effective in causing weight loss, by discouraging food intake and/or reducing caloric absorption.